Chemistry of Desire Read Online Free Page A

“I cook by the decimal system,” she replied.
    “I’m not familiar with that,” he admitted.
    “I can make ten of most things. Ten kinds of cake, ten kinds of sandwiches, ten kinds of salad, you get my drift. I cook basics, like chicken. But I know ten ways to fix it.”
    “That’s, um, different.”
    Emily shrugged. “Everybody should know how to feed themselves. Ten seemed to be a good number to master. Anything less is boring and anything more is superfluous. So I can fix eggs ten ways. Same with potatoes, tomatoes and just about anything else.”
    Todd laughed. “Practical and creative, a woman after my own heart. And as much as I’d like to sample some of your decimal kitchen stylings, I’d be less than a gentleman if I didn’t take you out. You do like seafood, don’t you?”
    Emily made a little face. “I love it, but I’m not really dressed to go out. And I can’t go change, because I didn’t bring anything fancy with me. I don’t actually own anything fancy, except the dress I wore in Ayanna’s wedding,” she said with a hint of defiance.
    “So? You look fine to me, and I wasn’t thinking about anything fancy. I kinda pictured a divebar with good food and ice-cold beer. Is there anything like that around here?”
    Emily grinned. “If that’s what you want, I have just the place for you. Let’s go.”
     
    “This is just what I had in mind,” Todd said approvingly. “Good music, cold beer and great food. And the atmosphere is perfect.”
    They were seated next to the windows that ran the length of the long, narrow dining room of Fishy’s Roadhouse. The walls and floors were of the same weathered wood. The tables were a mixture of old wood and fifties Formica, with worn vinyl chairs. Old license plates and Burma-Shave ads were on the walls, along with stuffed fish and other oddities. A big jukebox was near the bandstand, and “Use Somebody” by the Kings of Leon was playing. The staff wore bowling shirts and jeans, and the total effect was laid-back and cheerful. The food was exceptional, and they had polished off a pile of crab legs and lobster with corn bread, coleslaw and fries. They had also shared a huge slab of pecan pie with Fishy’s homemade ice cream.
    Todd was enjoying himself tremendously. Emily was totally unselfconscious while she ate, and she ate like a real person, not like the women he dated. They were the salad brigade, women who avoided carbs and red meat and desserts, all the thingsthat made life worth living. Emily had a beautiful body, and she seemed to treat it very well without starving herself. In his experience, a woman who enjoyed the pleasure of eating enjoyed other pleasures as well. From what he could see, Emily was a very sensual lady in all ways. She had a heart-shaped face with rich brown skin that looked as if it would be soft and smooth to touch. Her thick eyebrows were natural, like her eyelashes. That was one of the things he really liked, the fact that she wasn’t plastered with makeup. And her smile was just as sexy as she was, with big dimples that bracketed her full, moist lips.
    “I’m glad you like this place. I come here all the time when I’m on Hilton Head,” she told him. “It’s really good in October when the stone crab claws are in season. You can only get them in Florida, but the owner has a relative there and he gets some a few times during the season. They’re wonderful, my favorite food.”
    “How often are you able to get to Hilton Head?” he asked.
    “Not as often as I’d like. When I’m not at the university, I’m still busy with community work, like my summer science camp. Or I’m going somewhere else to work. I was in Haiti after the earthquake. I was in New Orleans after Katrina. I never know where I’m going to be,” she said. “Recreationgets pushed to the back of the line when it comes to my schedule.”
    Todd was impressed but curious. “What do you do when you’re working in disaster areas? How does your